Colorado-born Takeda may be familiar to local TV viewers from his years on KCNC as a producer; he left the Channel 4 newsroom in 1994, later working in sales. The segue from TV news to TV/film acting took some years and a circuitous route through launching his own production company, doing voice-over commercials, taking acting workshops and more. “Finally it got serious five years ago,” he said. He has six agents now and an impressive list of credits: “Dallas Buyers Club” with Matthew McConaughey, “Everything Must Go” with Will Ferrell, “Little Fockers” with Robert De Niro, Disney’s “Lemonade Mouth” and Lifetime’s “Secret Lives of Wives.”

After “bonding” with McConaughey on the set (they talked travel), Takeda recently wrapped on “Gone Girl,” David Fincher’s latest film, due out in Oct. And this week finished a guest starring role on the AMC series “Halt and Catch Fire,” for early June. In “Star-Crossed,” his role as Dr. Lerner is limited for now, but “it’s potentially a recurring role. I’m very hopeful.”

Meanwhile his Takeda Entertainment Inc., based in Denver, does corporate client films. And he has a photography art show coming up at Blue Dot Studio.

His goal is to be a TV series regular, or to land a lead role in a feature film. “I still love directing, love storytelling in general.”

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.